Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a compressible/resilient structure for various uses such as, for example, in athletic shoes, regular shoes, boots, floor carpets, carpet pads, sports floors etc. The structure itself can be the final product or the structure can be a component of another structure. Uses envisioned include, but are not limited to: automobile parts and other composites; flooring; subfloors especially in gymnasiums or other sports arenas; press pads; ballistic cloth such as body armor or hurricane window protection; sporting equipment padding such as baseball catcher chest protectors; knee/elbow pads for runners, racers, skaters, volleyball players; cricket shin/knee pads; football hip pads; wall padding in stadiums, gymnasiums, arenas; shoe inserts (orthotics); heels/soles for athletic shoes e.g. running shoes; cushioning layer for bedding, vehicle seats, pillows; and other end uses where through thickness compressibility and resiliency is required.
Description of Prior Art
In related art, U.S. Pat. No. 6,391,420 discloses an extruded bicomponent elastomeric netting having unidirectional elasticity. The structure disclosed in the '420 patent is a nonwoven article employing an inelastic material such as polypropylene in one direction and an elastic material such as a styrene block copolymer in the other direction.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0202314, PCT Application No. WO 2007/067949 and U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0194490 are examples where “crossless” structures are used as the substrate. Substitution of the structure according to the present invention for at least some of these layers allows through thickness compression and spring back, and results in an improved overall structure.
The inventive structure can also be used as shoe inserts or orthotic inserts, which are usually molded solid resin. Incorporation of a layer of the structure according to the present invention improves the cushioning effect thereof. For soles/heels for sports shoes, which are usually solid viscoelastomeric materials, some attempts to improve “cushioning” have been to mold in for example “air channels or pockets.” However, the rigidity of the molded material is such that cushioning effects are limited. Incorporation of the structure according to the present invention as a layer in the cast structure, free of “resin” to allow movement, substantially improves the cushioning effect of running/athletic shoes. And if the “resin” is a polyurethane foam or silicone foam, then it can impregnate or even encapsulate the mesh structure.
Therefore, it would be an advancement in the state of the “pad-making” art to provide a pad that provides excellent elastic behavior under load with high through thickness recovery.